family research questions to ask

100 Family Interview Questions To Ask Your Relatives

Have you ever wondered who your great-great-grandfather was or if you have any relatives who made monumental changes in history?

Have you ever thought about where your curly locks came from, or if you may be related to a famous historical figure or true crime legend?

This article will go over how you can ask the family interview questions to learn about your family history.

Finding out who we are and where we came from is a common curiosity among people across the globe.

The best way to gather this type of information is simply asking those who would know your ancestors the best: your family.

So, what is the best way to ask these intimate questions? Continue reading for 100 questions to ask your family about your family history.

Childhood Information

Intermediate family information, marriage and children, historical events, health questions, other interesting questions to consider, state genealogy sites, ancestry dna, my heritage dna, family reunions, talk with a genealogist, understanding yourself better, connect with family members, increases your chances of making better choices, it makes you want to be a better person, be respectful, be interested, 100 questions to ask about your family history.

When asking questions regarding your family’s history, you are looking for information that can date back hundreds of years.

That type of information can draw up thousands of questions specific to every detailed event.

That’s why it is important to know where to start and then let the conversation go from there.

Some of the best memories come from our childhood. This is a great place to start when you are interviewing your family about your history and theirs.

Ask them the basics regarding who they were growing up and what their family and life were like:

• What was their full name?
• Did they have any nicknames?
• Were they named after anyone in particular?
• When were they born?
• Where were they born?
• Did their birth take place in a hospital?
• What are their favorite memories of their grandparents?
• What memories do they have about their mother?
• What memories do they have about their father?
• What was their childhood house like?
• What types of chores were they responsible for?
• Did they have any pets? If so, which was their favorite?
• What was their religion?
• If they were religious, what place of worship did they attend?
• What did they do for fun?
• Were they close with anyone in particular?

Remember, this type of information can be hard to remember or even difficult to talk about. Never rush the conversations and focus on questions that really matter.

After you get a good feel for who that person was growing up and what life was like throughout their childhood years, you can move onto their family and what those relatives’ lives were like.

Who were your grandparents, cousins, aunts, 3rd cousins twice removed?

You may find that you had some very interesting characters in your family tree that you never knew existed.

What to ask regarding intermediate family information:

• Who were their parents?
• Where did their Parents live growing up?
• Where and when did their parents die? (If applicable)
• Where are their parents buried? (If applicable)
• What types of jobs did their parents have?
• Where do their siblings live now?
• Were their Siblings married? (If applicable)
• What was the name of their sibling’s spouses?
• Did their Siblings have any children, and what were their names?
• Do they know their uncles and aunts?
• Did they have any cousins they were close with?
• How old were they when their uncles, aunts, or cousins passed? (If applicable)

When putting together a family tree, you will quickly notice how far the branches reach. Try and get your family members to remember as much as they can about all of their relatives.

Times have certainly changed, and the way schools are now are nothing like they used to be.

Learning about your family’s past experiences in education could be extremely interesting and may help you decide what you want to accomplish in your future endeavors.

What to ask regarding education:

• Where did they go to elementary school?
• Where did they go to high school?
• Did they finish high school?
• What were their favorite subjects?
• What was school like?
• Did they go to college?
• If they went to college, what did they major in?
• What were teachers like back then?
• Who were their friends in school?
• What were school rules like back then compared to now?
• What types of books did they read?

I’m sure we have all heard the stories about walking to school uphill 10 miles, barefooted, in a foot of snow. Find out if this is something your relative really did.

Maybe spanking in class was also something that happened?

Now it is time to talk about them specifically and what life was like for them and raising their children.

About their adult lives and how they have gotten to where they are now, this may be a lot more recent information but is still fun to learn and can provide a lot of beneficial clues into your life.

What to ask regarding marriage and children:

• Where did they meet their spouse?
• Who Proposed? How and where did it happen?
• Where did they get married?
• What was their wedding song?
• Where did they go for their honeymoon?
• Where was their first home located?
• If they moved, where and why?
• What jobs did they have?
• What jobs did their spouse have?
• Did they have any children, and how many?
• What are their children’s names? (If applicable)
• Do they have grandchildren?
• What are their children and grandchildren like? (If applicable)
• Where did their family like to vacation?
• How were chores divided in the home?
• What were the family’s favorite meals?
• Were times tougher than they are now to raise a family?

These types of questions can get very personal and touch some emotional nerves quickly, try to tread lightly and be respectful.

There have been many historical events that have changed the world. Living through these times was probably extremely influential on how people grew up and who they turned out to be.

Learning about your family members’ experiences during historical events can be very exciting and informational.

What to ask regarding historical events:

• Were they in a war or lived through one?
• What was wartime like?
• What was the scariest part of living through a war?
• What historical events took place during their lives?
• What do they remember about those major historical events?
• Do they have any records of historical events from their past? (Letters, photos or news clippings)
• What was it like raising a family through these historical events?
• What cool inventions were created during their lifetime?
• What were presidential elections like in their past?
• Who did they vote for?
• What were political conversations like when they were growing up?
• What historical event impacted them the most and why?
• Who was their favorite president?

So many historical events have changed lives in huge ways.

Identifying the major ones your family may have experienced can help you learn more about that time and what really happened.

For obvious reasons, you should question your relatives about their health history and the health history of those related to them.

This can help you identify some genetic information that may be problematic for you in the future or even something that you may end up passing on to your children.

Other health-related questions can be asked just to get an idea of what that specific family member went through and what things were like when they experienced them.

What to ask regarding family health:

• Did they have any health issues?
• Did their parents or grandparents have any health conditions?
• Were they ever in a serious accident?
• Did they suffer from any childhood illnesses?
• Were they ever in the hospital?
• Did they ever have their life saved?
• Did they ever save anyone’s life?
• Did they ever need surgery?
• Do they know about any genetic health issues?
• Did they ever go through a pandemic? If yes, what was it like?
• What were hospitals and doctors like?
• Did they ever break a bone?

Now that we know more about the specific aspects of your family history, let’s move on to some miscellaneous questions you can ask.

There are endless amounts of questions you can ask your family regarding their history, your family’s history, and past events that would make for interesting stories and conversations that would kill the silence.

Here are a few more questions you may want to bring up during your “interview.”,

What to ask regarding different areas of their life:

• What was the price of different items when they were growing up? (ie. food, gas, clothing)
• What did people wear while they were growing up?
• What kinds of music, movies, and entertainment was popular?
• Who was famous during these times?
• Where were the “cool” places to hang out?
• Did they date a lot?
• What were their favorite games or toys?
• What were their favorite sports?
• Were they ever a victim of a crime?
• Did they ever commit a crime?
• Did they ever witness a crime?
• What were some of the most difficult decisions they ever had to make?
• If they could change something from the past what would it be?
• What organizations or groups were they a part of?
• Did they play an instrument?
• Who did they look up to when they were little?
• Who do they look up to now?
• Did they ever win an award?
• Do they remember their neighbors growing up?

There is a lot to uncover when finding out about your family history.

Though you have spoken information, you might also want to look for written records to gain a better understanding.

What Is the Best Way to Research My Family History?

To research your family history, you can find written documents your family kept throughout the years and find more information there.

You can also do genetics and DNA testing to find out your ethnic background or link yourself to other unknown family members.

Let’s dive deeper into each of the ways to research your family history below.

All states offer information and resources relating to genealogy and the history of that state, and past historical world events.

You can find information about your family history on state genealogy sites such as:

• Land and property information
• Birth, death, and adoption certificates
• Locations of burials
• Military records
• Business owner information
• Immigration records
• Criminal history
• Historical hospital records and information
• Historical shipping vessels
• Documents regarding slavery in the U.S
• How much people use to make in specific jobs

A lot of the information provided within these sites is free to access and can also be found in many libraries and historical societies.

There is also a wide range of information located through the U.S National Archives .

Genetics DNA Testing

If you are interested in finding out where your family came from, who you are, and what health traits you may have inherited, using a DNA testing company could give you this information and so much more.

Some of these kits are better than others, and each offers its own set of advantages.

Here are the top three DNA testing kits you may want to consider when searching through your past.

This kit is $99 and has already been used by millions of people.

The types of information they provide include but is not limited to:

• A pie chart representing your ethnicities
• Locations and details of over 500 places
• A timeline of historical changes
• How and why your family moved locations
• Many ways to match and view your DNA results

This company is extremely popular and has made big advancements in the way people can track their heritage and gain detailed knowledge of their ancestors.

This kit costs $99 and offers one of the most comprehensive and detailed breakdowns of ancestor history.

The information provided by this company includes but is not limited to:

• Ancestry composition
• Detailed ancestry report
• DNA relative finder
• Family Trees
• Famous relatives
• Neanderthal DNA

This company is well known for getting detailed information to help you understand where you come from and those you may be related to.

This kit costs $59, making it the most affordable of the 3.

This kit not only offers DNA testing that can help you uncover your family heritage but also provides a library of tools and resources to help you dig up your past.

Information provided by this company includes but is not limited to:

• Ethnicity matches
• DNA matches
• Ethnicity maps
• Family tree
• Newspaper articles

This site also provides customers with professional researchers to help you trace your history as far back as you can go for an extra fee.

Where better to hear information regarding your family history than from your family themselves?

Take your time during these get-togethers to make your way around the group and ask lots of questions.

Ways you can utilize family reunions:

• Ask for pictures: You can also be the one who initiates the reunion and request family members to bring along pictures or mementos with them in the invitations.
• Create a family tree board: Create a large family tree board and place it on the table at your family reunion, this way those who look at it can add their information if they have any.
• Send Questionnaires: Create questionnaires to add to your invitations or to place on the table at a reunion full of the questions listed above.
• Make a video : Travel around the room asking family members specific information regarding their past and record their answers as you go. This will make an amazing home video.

There are many ways you can use family reunions to your advantage when seeking information regarding your family tree if you know the right questions to ask.

There are many professional genealogists available online, by phone, or in-person who can help you track down your lineage and find out information regarding your family and their history.

These professionals have gone through years of schooling in order to learn the best ways to research information and track down relatives in families that may be too hard to find on your own.

A genealogist is usually paid a specific fee depending on the research needed and the information being looked into.

These people will do all of the leg work, searching through historical documents, public records and interviewing people from all over in order to get the details their clients are looking for.

You can easily hire a genealogist by googling your location and budget.  You can locate them through family search sites, family history centers, or even social media.

Popular social media sites have been known for reuniting family members and loved ones simply by asking questions in the right places.

Related:  The 12 Best Genealogy Courses and Webinars for Beginners

Why Should You Ask About Your Family History?

There is so much unknown about the past.

As the years go by, technology improves, the world changes, and lives are so much more different.

Understanding your family’s history can help you better understand what life used to be like for those you love and how these changes may have affected who you are today.

There are many benefits to understanding your family history and taking the time to sit down with your relatives to ask them about their past and what your ancestors were like.

Let’s dive deeper into each of these benefits below.

Have you ever wondered where your dark blue eyes came from or how you could be so shy when the rest of your family is extremely outspoken?

These traits could have been passed down to you throughout generations and you don’t even know it.

Maybe you have a love for adventure and exploring the unknowns, but no one really understands you or your passion.

Finding out your great-uncle John had the same love for exploration could help you to feel like you fit in somewhere, or you do have someone in your family that was just like you. 

This type of revelation can help a lot of people get a feel for their true identity and gives them a great sense of belonging.

There is nothing more personal than sitting someone down and talking to them about their past.

Not only will it help you feel a connection, but you may help that other person feel loved and important.

Getting to know your family members, who they truly are, and where they or their families came from can be a great way to bond. 

This is also an excellent opportunity to understand your family and why they believe in the things they believe in or do the things they do.

It is relatively safe to say that if someone learns their great-great-grandfather died of heart disease, their great uncle died from a heart attack, and their grandfather has suffered through multiple heart attacks and has had bypass surgeries that they are going to try and eat better and exercise more.

Knowing your family history, including their health, can prepare you for possible future outcomes and can help you create your final destination.

Related:  8 Interesting Ways Our Ancestors Influence Us

This can go two different ways.

Many of us want to believe that everyone in our family tree has been on the up-and-up and has always made great choices in life.

However, that is not always the case.

Knowing things that your ancestors have done wrong in the past can give you a reason to want to do better. 

On the other hand, you may find out you come from a long line of do-gooders, and this can also make you feel obligated to be a better person, do good for your community, and leave a positive mark for your community future family members to look back on.

How Should You Bring It Up?

Some families may be extremely open and happy to share their past and their family’s history with someone; however, that may not be the case for all.

It is important that you know how to properly bring up the topic without stirring up any type of trouble or pain.

You always want to be approaching the subject with curiosity, sincere interest, and preparation.

Let’s dive deeper into some ways you can bring up questions to your family about your family’s history below.

Be respectful not only with your questions but also with your reactions to their answers.

You can never fully prepare yourself for the information you may encounter; however, you can have control over your reactions.

Most of the time, when discussing your family’s history, you will be talking about deceased loved ones and it can be difficult to re-hash memories and stories without becoming emotional.

Be respectful of those emotions and be there to support the one telling you the information you are looking for.

You should also always be respectful regarding choices such as past religions, relationships, immigrations, or actions.

No one is going to continue sharing things if they feel attacked or ashamed.

This information is to learn about your past and your family’s heritage, not to judge it.

It is essential to know when you are overstepping.

Do not ask extremely important questions if you are interested in a topic that may be a little risky; ease into it with an opening question and see if the other person opens that door.

If not, leave it be. 

For example, “How long were your parents married?”

They answer, “Only a few years.”

You want to know why, but that may not be information they wish to share, so you can follow up with “Who did you live with after?”

If they want to let you know about an affair, betrayal, or any other deeper information, they will let you know. If not, it is not worth an emotional fallout.

If you are going to bring up the questions, then you have to be committed and involved.

Stay engaged and present when asking about your family history.  Have conversations about the answers you are given, don’t just jump from one question to another. 

Many people love to take a trip down memory lane and share those fond memories with the ones they love.

Let them tell you their story and comment on each situation. You never know where those conversations can take you and what other details might pop up.

Come into the conversation prepared. Know what questions you want to ask ahead of time, or at least have conversation starters prepared.

You can be ready for interviewing about your family’s history in many different ways:

• Bring an Unfinished Family Tree : Bring with you a blank family tree and use that as the focal point for your conversation. Complete the tree as much as you can with the person you are sitting down with.
• Bring along pictures or newspaper clippings : You can try to start a conversation with some old newspaper articles you have tracked down or some family pictures you found stashed away in your parent’s attic.
• Come with your own story : “Grandma, where did I get my brown eyes if everyone else in the family has blue?”
• Use a big event to kickstart the conversation : Use a big event in your own life to press for information. If you are getting married, ask your great-aunt what her wedding was like and who was in it.
• Take a journal : This is definitely information you are going to want to keep forever; take a journal with you to jot down the main details or even start a scrapbook.

Never go into deep-dive conversations without being prepared on how you are going to start, contribute and complete the conversation.

Sometimes it can be hard to find the right way to discuss your family’s past and all of the personal and private details that come with it.

However, this information can be very important to understand who you are, where you came from, and what kind of future you may possess.

You should always be certain you are asking these questions in the right way and at the right time. And always pay attention to the details in the story; you never know what type of information you might uncover.

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About GYAdmin

Hi, I’m Emma. I fell in love with genealogy the second I found out my ancestor fell off the Mayflower. I started GenealogyYou to help others on this fascinating journey (and to put my History degree to some use).

Master the Art of Asking the Right Genealogy Research Questions

Genealogy research is a captivating journey that allows individuals to uncover the stories of their ancestors, their lives, and their connections to the past. However, the success of this pursuit largely hinges on the ability to ask the right questions.

In this article, we will explore the key elements of a quality genealogy research question and discuss how it can significantly impact the outcomes of your research.

What is a Quality Genealogy Research Question?

A quality genealogy research question possesses several essential characteristics that enable researchers to delve deeper into their family history. Let's examine these elements:

Establishes Relationship:

A well-crafted research question establishes a specific relationship between individuals within your family tree. It seeks to identify connections such as parentage, sibling relationships, or marital unions. By pinpointing these relationships, you can uncover a clearer picture of your family's lineage.

Documents Specific Life Events:

An effective research question delves into the specifics of an ancestor's life events. It focuses on uncovering vital information related to birth, marriage, death, migration, and other significant milestones. These details breathe life into your family narrative and provide a rich historical context.

Provides Additional Biographical Details:

Beyond the basic facts, a quality research question delves deeper into an ancestor's life by seeking additional biographical information. This could include details such as occupation, social status, military service, and other aspects contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of their lives.

For a visual explanation of this topic, watch this video .

The Importance of Specificity in Research Questions:

When formulating genealogy research questions, specificity is paramount. Let's consider an example to illustrate this point:

Rather than asking, " Who is John Townley? " which provides little guidance and leaves room for ambiguity.

A specific question like, "Who are the parents of John Townley, who moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1830s?" directs your research towards a particular time period, geographical location, and family relation.

This level of specificity increases the chances of finding relevant information and leads to more fruitful results.

What Happens When I Can’t Find an Answer?

If you struggle to obtain satisfactory results, it is essential to consider revising your research question. Several factors may contribute to the need for revision:

Document Limitations

Evaluate whether the answer to your genealogy research question was documented. Did someone in the past record the answers you seek? Assessing this aspect can help determine if your question is feasible or if alternative approaches should be considered.

If no one thought it important enough to record your ancestor's personality, you should research a different question - such as his height or complexion.

Availability Limitations:

Research questions should align with the availability of records for the time and place you are investigating. While some periods and locations have extensive records, others may have limited or non-existent documentation. Understanding the context of your research can guide you in crafting realistic and productive questions.

DNA Limitations:

While DNA testing has become a valuable tool in genealogy research, it is crucial to acknowledge its limitations. Some questions may fall outside the scope of what DNA analysis can offer. Ensure that your research question aligns with the capabilities of DNA testing to avoid potential dead-ends.

↪️ Are you looking for more genealogy resources?

Grab your copy of FREE Genealogy Research Guide:

Know What Sources Answer Your Question

To obtain answers to your genealogy research questions, it is important to identify the appropriate sources.

I have a cheat sheet of sources that answer some common types of research questions you may have. Check out this link to access that free guide.

Even if you do not get the cheat sheet, know this.

Besides traditional records like birth certificates, marriage licenses, and census data, alternative sources might exist. These could include newspaper archives, military records, city directories, probate records, and more.

Exploring lesser-known sources can yield valuable insights into your family's history.

↪️ Do you want to dive even deeper into genetic genealogy, writing family histories, and climbing your family tree? Join the

FHF Xtra Premium Membership and get a wealth of exclusive content.

Multiple Documents and Sources Are Often Required

In most cases, answering a genealogy research question requires consulting multiple documents and sources. While specific queries may find resolution in a single document, a comprehensive understanding of your family history often necessitates cross-referencing information from various records.

For instance:

A question like "What is the SSID of my ancestor?" could potentially be answered with a single document.

However, the question of “Who are the parents of John Townley of Cincinnati, Ohio?” will require multiple documents to piece together a coherent narrative of your ancestry.

Obtaining multiple sources ensures accuracy and strengthens the credibility of your findings.

Genealogical Methodology For Answering Research Questions:

If one or more sources don’t resolve your research question, you will likely need to employ more advanced genealogy research techniques. Employing any of the following methods can enhance your chances of success.

Surname Research:

Surname research explores a specific surname's origins, variations, and migrations, providing insights into ancestral lineages and potential connections.

FAN Club Research:

FAN Club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors) research involves investigating your ancestors' social circle and community connections to gather additional evidence about their lives.

Same-Name Rule Out:

The same-name rule-out technique aims to eliminate individuals with similar names who are not your ancestor, thereby narrowing down your focus to the correct person.

Inferential Genealogy:

Inferential genealogy employs deductive reasoning and indirect evidence to make informed conclusions about relationships and ancestral connections.

DNA Triangulation:

DNA triangulation involves comparing DNA results among multiple individuals who share a common ancestor to deduce relationships and confirm ancestral connections.

DNA Phasing:

DNA phasing is a method used to determine which segments of DNA come from each parent, aiding in identifying specific ancestral lines.

What Genealogy Research Questions Are You Asking?

Asking the right questions is an integral part of successful genealogy research.

By crafting specific research questions, aligning them with available records, exploring alternative sources, and employing appropriate methods, you can unlock the fascinating stories of your ancestors and enrich your understanding of your family's history.

For More Genealogy Research Basics Tutorials

Become a Better Researcher By Reviewing What You Know

How to Develop a Quality Genealogy Research Question

The Fundamentals of Genealogy Research Plans

How Do to Keep Track of Genealogy Research Notes

5 Step Genealogy Research Plan For Someone You Know Little About

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260 family history questions to interview yourself & others

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• family history , family stories , interviews , storytelling , writing prompts

Let’s be honest. Random record discoveries are exciting, and stories are hard to write. So it can be very tempting to get stuck in the research and leave the storytelling for someone else.

Nor are we all natural writers. Some people can tap out hundreds of words in half an hour or so, while it’s a much slower process for many others. I’m in the second camp for sure. For me, writing is always a struggle, no matter how many tips I follow.

So my trick is to let the research component do as much of the storytelling as possible. Sounds too good to be true, right? I promise it’s not, pinky swear.

When you don’t know what to write, answer a question.

The trick is to make sure you capture the answers as you research. After all, genealogy is just finding the answers to the thousands of questions you have about your ancestors.

So, as you make a discovery, write out the answer. That sentence or paragraph is a piece of the overall story. That way, when you are ready to write your family history you already have a rough first draft.

For example, I wanted to find out what happened to my Great Uncle John. One question was ‘did he emigrate?’ So I searched ship passenger lists until I found a match. The answer to the question was: “In October 1896, John Dwyer, his wife and their three children left Australia for a life in New Zealand.”

Of course, this prompts many other questions, but I now have that first sentence to tell part of his story. All I have to do now is add to it.

Interview Yourself

The best way to practice this method is to start with you. After all, it’s the topic you know the most about, right?

To help you out I’m sharing the top 260 questions that I use in my family history research. I’ve answered these myself and asked many of these whenever I interview distant (and not-so-distant) relatives. Either write your response or get creative and create an audio or video recording.

• Share the story behind your name.
• Did you like your name growing up? Do you like it now?
• What was your nickname growing up? Do people still call you that today?
• Who gave your childhood nickname? What is the story behind it?
• What other nicknames have you had? Share the story behind each of those names.
• Which nickname is your favourite?
• Who else in your family shares the same name as you? What is their relationship to you?

Your Parents

• Share the story of how and when your parents met.
• The Engagement : When and where did your parents get engaged? How old were they?
• The Wedding : When and where did your parents get married? How old were they?
• Who gave the bride away?
• Share your favourite photo of your parents at their wedding.
• Who were the attendants/witnesses for your parents’ at their wedding?
• What was their relationship to your Mum and Dad? (e.g. brother, sister, cousin, friend etc.)
• Where was their wedding reception held?
• Who made the wedding cake?
• How many guests did they have?
• Who made the wedding dress?
• Share a story you’ve heard about your parents’ wedding day.
• Did your parents have a honeymoon? Where did they go?
• Where did your parents live after they married/met? How long did they live there? Did you ever live there too?
• How many years have your parents been married?
• What pet names/endearments did your parents’ have for each other?

More about your Mum and Dad

Answer the questions below separately for your Mum and Dad. So, you’ll have two sets of answers (Mum and Dad).

• Share a story you’ve heard about your mother/father’s name.
• Did your mother/father have a nickname? What did her/his siblings or parents call her/him?
• What did you call your Mother/Father?
• Where was your mother/father born?
• Whereabouts did she/he grow up?
• If your mother/father emigrated, when and why did she/he move here?
• What did your Mum/Dad look like (e.g. height and build?)?
• Do you know her/him eye colour?
• How many siblings did she/he have? Name them in order of oldest to youngest.
• Where did she/he go to school?
• What was your Mum/Dad’s first job?
• How much did she/he get paid?
• What other jobs did she/he have during her/his working life?
• Did she/he ever serve in the military? Which service and what rank did she/he achieve?
• Did your Mum/Dad have any special talents? (e.g. painting, singing, dancing, sewing, baking, carpentry, gardening, swimming, running, etc)
• Did she/he ever receive awards or commendation for anything she produced? Share what you know about the awards.
• Who were your Mum/Dad’s closest friends? What did you call them?
• What did you admire most about your Mother/Father?
• Share your favourite memory of your Mum/Dad
• Name your siblings oldest to youngest. Where do you fit in?
• Which sibling were you closest too when growing up?
• Which sibling are you closest to today?
• Do your siblings have nicknames? What is the name and story behind it?
• Growing up, did you a room with one of your siblings? Which one?
• What is your favourite memory of sharing a room?
• Which sibling was the most mischievous? Share a story about something they did.
• responsible
• Share your favourite photo of you with your siblings.
• Share your favourite memory about each of your siblings.

Grandparents

• Which of your grandparents have you met (inc. great-grandparents)?
• Do you have anything mementos that belonged to one of your grandparents? What is it?

Answer the questions below separately for each set of grandparents. So, you’ll have two sets of answers (Mum’s parents and Dad’s parents)

• Did you know your Mum/Dad’s parents?
• Share your favourite memory of your grandparents.
• Share your favourite photo of your Mum/Dad’s parents
• How did your grandparents meet?
• Where and when did they get married?
• Share a story that you’ve heard about their wedding day.
• How long were they married?
• Share a photo from one of their milestone anniversary parties
• Share a story (or two) your Mum or her siblings have told about their parents

How well do you know each grandparent

Answer these questions (64 to 80) about each of your grandparents, whether you met them or not. So, you’ll have four sets of answers (Mum’s mum, Mum’s Dad, Dad’s Mum and Dad’s Dad). You can also use these for great-grandparents if you have memories of them.

• What did you call your grandmother/grandfather?
• Share a story you’ve heard about your grandmother/grandfather’s name.
• Where was he/she born?
• Whereabouts did he/she grow up?
• How many siblings did he/she have? List them in order of oldest to youngest.
• Which of their siblings have you met?
• If your grandmother/grandfather emigrated, what inspired her to move?
• Hair Colour
• Distinctive Features
• Share your favourite memory of your grandmother/grandfather. Either yours or a story you’ve heard.
• What occupations did he/she have during his/her working life?
• Did he/she ever serve in the military? Which service? What years did he/she serve and what rank did he/she achieve?
• Did your grandparent serve in any war? Which one and where were they located?
• Were they awarded any medals or military honours for their service?
• Have you heard stories about your grandmother/grandfather having any special talents? (e.g. painting, singing, dancing, sewing, baking, carpentry, gardening, swimming, running, etc)
• Where did he/she die? How old were you?
• Where are they buried?
• Share a memory of the funeral or visiting their grave

Extended Family

• Do you have a favourite Aunt or Uncle?
• Have you met all of your Aunts and Uncle?
• What do you remember the most about the Aunts and Uncles you’ve met?
• Share your most memorable moments with your Aunts and Uncles.
• Can you name all of your first cousins?
• Have you met them all of your first cousins? Do you still stay in touch?

• Did any of your extended family live with you? (e.g. aunt, uncle, cousins, grandparents)
• Which is your favourite family photo taken when you were growing up. What do you love about it?
• Growing up, did food mostly come from the garden or the store?
• What was your favourite meal growing up? Do you remember the last time you had it?
• Who was the better cook, your Mum or Dad?
• What were birthday and holiday celebrations like growing up?
• Which holiday was your favourite? What did you like about it?
• Do you still follow any of the holiday traditions from your childhood?
• Every generation experiences fads (e.g. fashion, music, dancing etc.) . Which fads can you remember from your youth?
• What time of year did your family go on vacation? (e.g. summer, Christmas etc)
• Where did your family go on vacations?
• Which was your favourite (or the most memorable) family vacation?
• Which was the first film you saw at a cinema or drive-in?
• What was it like going to the cinema or drive-in for the first time?
• Do you remember the first book you read? What was it?

Early years

• What story do your Mum or older siblings tell about your birth?
• Did you have a favourite toy? Who gave it to you? Do you still have it?
• Share a photo of you as a baby.
• Where was your childhood home?
• Did you share a room or have one of your own?
• Which sibling/s was your roommate?
• Other than homework, what daily or weekly chores did you have as a child?
• Which chore did you hate doing? What would you do to avoid it?
• What were your favorite toys? Do you still have any of them?
• What were some of your favorite childhood games.
• How did you spend your evenings as a child? (e.g. reading, watching TV, listening to the radio, doing homework)
• Did you have a childhood bedtime? Do you remember what it was?
• Did your Mum or Dad ever read you and your siblings a bedtime story? Do you remember any of those stories?
• Share a favourite memory from your childhood.
• Share a photo of you as a child.

Young adult

• Did you have a part-time job? Where was it? Do you remember how much it paid?
• Did you and your friends have a special hangout where you liked to spend time?
• What type of music did you listen to growing up?
• Who was your favourite singer or band? Did you ever see them perform live?
• Which was the first concert that you went too? When and where was that?
• What was the first record/cassette/cd that you purchased?
• Were you ever one of the dancers for a music show? Which show?
• In high school, how did you typically spend evenings and weekends?
• As a teenager, did you have a curfew? What was it?
• When did you learn to drive?
• How old were you when you got your license?
• What was your first car? Is there a photo?
• Share a photo of you from these years.
• What did you wear on your first ever day of school? Is there a photo?
• What do you remember about your last ever day of school? Is there a photo?
• Name all of the schools that you attended.
• Which school was your favourite?
• What is the most memorable thing about your school years?
• Which sports teams where you on?
• What was your greatest achievement during your school years?
• Are you still friends with anyone you knew in school?
• Which university or college did you attend?
• What did you study at college? Which qualification did you achieve?
• Have you done additional study since leaving college/university? What did you study?

Answer the questions below for both all levels of school. So, you’ll have two sets of answers (primary and secondary)

• How did you get to primary/secondary school every day? (e.g. walk, bus, bike etc.)
• Which year did you start primary/secondary school?
• How old were during your first year of primary/secondary school?
• What were your favourite subjects?
• Who were your favourite teachers?
• Who was your best friend in primary/secondary school? Are you still friends today?
• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did it happen?
• How many places have you worked?
• Which was your favourite place to work?
• What has been your main occupation? (e.g. accountant, teacher, landscaper etc.)
• Was your occupation something you ‘fell into’ or did you strategically work towards that career? If the latter, what made you choose that occupation?
• Are you or have you been self-employed/had your own business? What was the business?
• Are you still friends with anyone you met through any of your jobs?
• Have you ever served on committees for organisations or the local council?
• Share a favourite memory from each job you’ve had during your working life.
• Where was your first job? What was your role there?
• How old were you when you started working?
• Do you remember how much you were paid?
• How did you spend your first paycheck?
• How long did you stay at that first job?
• What do you remember the most about that job?

Volunteering

• What volunteer positions have you held?
• Why did you choose those organisations?
• How did volunteering make you feel?
• Share a story about something significant from your volunteer work.

Military service

• Did you serve in the military? Which service?
• What years did you serve?
• What rank did you achieve?
• Have you received any medals/awards/commendations?
• Share your favourite memory from your military service.

Relationships

• How did you meet people? (e.g. dances, friends of friends, online)
• What is the funniest story you have from your dating life?

Your first time dating

• How old were you the first time you went on a date?
• What was their name?
• Were you nervous?
• Did they meet your parents before you went out?
• Where did you go on that date?

Your forever partner

• How did you meet your spouse/significant other?
• Do you have pet names/terms of endearment for each other? What are they?
• What did you do for your first date?
• When and where did you get engaged?
• How long did you know each other before getting engaged?
• Share your memory of how the proposal happened.
• When and where did you get married?
• Who were the attendants/witnesses?
• Where was the wedding reception held?
• Who made your wedding cake? What type of cake was it?
• Share a memorable moment about your wedding.
• Share your favourite photo of your wedding.
• Was there a honeymoon? Where did you go?
• Where did your spouse/significant other grow up?
• How many siblings does your spouse/significant other have?
• What is your spouse/significant other’s occupation?
• Where was your first home together? How long did you live there?
• Share your favourite memory about finding your first family home.
• How many children do you have?
• What are their names? List them in order of oldest to youngest.
• Why those names? Share the story behind each name.
• Do any of them share a room with a sibling? Who shares with who?
• How do you spend family time with your children? (e.g. reading, watching TV, seeing movies, playing board games, hiking, picnics etc.)
• Which card or board games are family favourites?

Answer these questions (202 to 209) for each of your children.

• What are their favorite toys?
• Other than homework, what daily or weekly chores does he/she have to do?
• Which chore do they have doing? What do they do to avoid it?
• Does your son/daughter have any special talents? (e.g. painting, singing, dancing, sewing, baking, carpentry, gardening, swimming, running, etc)
• Share your favourite story of your son/daughter.
• How long have you been in your current home?
• Which towns have you lived in throughout your life?
• Where was your favourite place to live? What made it special?
• How old were you when you left home?
• Did you share with friends or rent an apartment by yourself? Which city was it in?
• How much was the rent on that first place? What year was it?
• Share your favourite memory from living in that place.
• What age were you when you purchased a house/apartment? Which city was it in?
• What did you love about that house/apartment? What did you hate?
• Have you lived in other countries? Which ones?
• How were apartments different when you lived overseas? (e.g. smaller, larger, expensive etc.)
• Share a favourite story from each country that you’ve lived in.
• Where else would you like to live but haven’t had the opportunity?

• How old were you when you got your first passport?
• Which country was the first stamp in your passport?
• How many countries have you spent time in?
• Have you ever been on a cruise? Where did go?
• Do you prefer hotels, caravans or camping?
• Have you ever traveled by yourself or always with others?
• What was your most memorable vacation of all time? Where was it? Who was there?
• Which places have been your favourite to visit?
• Which place were your least favourite to visit?
• Where have you been that you’d like to revisit?
• Share a favourite memory from your travels
• Share a story about the worst experience you had while traveling?

Miscellaneous

• Have you ever been a part of an audience for a TV show? Which show?
• Where you a member of the local library growing up or throughout your life?
• Do you have a favourite book? What is it?
• Do you remember when you first read your favourite book?
• Who are some of your other favourite authors or books?
• Have you ever been to a drive-in? What do you remember about it?
• Did you ever have a crush on a movie star or musician? Who was it?
• Do you have a favourite film? What is it?
• What are some of your other favourite films
• Do you have a favourite flower? What is it?
• Are you a sports fan? What sport and which teams do you follow?
• How many and what types of animals have you had as pets?
• Was there a favourite pet?
• Share a favourite memory about one of your pets.
• Name your hobbies? (e.g. painting, sewing, baking, carpentry, gardening, genealogy etc)
• Have you won any awards for anything produced from your hobbies?
• When did you discover that you were talented at that hobby?
• Name five to ten people who have influenced you throughout your life.
• Share a story about how each of those people influenced you.
• Which significant local or global events have happened during your lifetime? (e.g. Vietnam War, 9/11 NYC terrorist attack, the fall of Berlin Wall, Port Arthur massacre, etc)
• Share a story about what you remember about each event.
• If you could be remembered for one thing, what would it be?
• Has anyone in your family patented an invention? What was it?
• Do you have any politicians, sports stars or celebrities in your family? Name names!
• Have you ever had your photo in the newspaper? What was it for?
• You can meet one of your ancestors and get the answer to one question. Who is the ancestor and what is the question?

Storytelling by answering questions

When you aren’t sure how to start telling a story, ask and answer a question. I find it’s the quickest way to work out what you know and want to say.

Like all other skills, writing gets easier the more that you do it. So, practice by answering questions about yourself. You’ll find your writing style as well as create an intriguing read for your descendants.

Don’t forget to snag the printable PDF with the full list of questions to interview yourself. Then cross off the items as you answer them, or even add new ones that you think.

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Family History Research: Steps to a Successful Interview

Brought to you in association with The Ellis Island Foundation.

In normal conversation, both people talk. Ideas are exchanged. Each person contributesinformation. The talk flows in unpredictable ways.

More: 5 Questions Kids Should Ask Their Grandparents

You also have to be flexible. Sometimes an unexpected topic can turn out tobe wonderful. Other times, you'll need to lead your talker back to the mainpoint — without hurting his or her feelings. This can be difficult, but youwill become better at it as you go along — practice will make you skilled. Bepatient with yourself and expect some mistakes. To make things easier, keepthese steps in mind:

Step 1: Before you interview anyone, give advance warning. Explain what you wantto do, why you want to do it, and why this person is important to you andyour research. Here's one approach:

Dear Aunt Jesse:

I'm working on a history of our family, and it would be very helpful if Icould sit down and talk with you. I'm particularly interested in yourmemories of my great-grandparents (your mother and father) and the family'searly years in Minnesota.

I'd also love to look at any old photographs or documents you have from the early days.

I won't need much more than an hour of your time, and would like to holdour talk at your home. Any weekend day would be fine. Can you let me know adate that is convenient for you?

Thanks so much for your help.

By writing this letter, you've given your relative a chance to start thinking about the topics you're interested in, and you may have even jogged hermemory. Of course, not all your relatives will be close by, and yourarrangements may be more difficult than "any weekend day." That just makesyour writing — and planning — even more important.

Step 2: Prepare for your interview. Find out whatever you can about thisrelative before the interview. Where does she fit into the family? What documents might she have? What other genealogical jewels might she have? Gather as much information as you can ahead of time about her relationship to everyone in your family. Your parents canprobably help you with this.

Step 3: Think out your questions beforehand. Interviewing requires structure.Write your questions on a sheet of paper, organized by subject. One easyway to organize what you want to ask is by years: Start with yourrelative's earliest years, and then move on from there.

Step 4: If at all possible, bring a tape recorder. A small recorder usually doesn't disturbanyone, and it catches every bit of information, including the way yourtalkers sound and exactly how they answer questions. If you don't have atape recorder, ask your parents if you can borrow or even rent one.

Step 5: In any case, bring a notebook and pen. Even if you have a tape recorder,always take handwritten notes. Recorders have been known to break down.

During the interview, write down names and dates, and double-checkthem with your subject. Facts are important, but the most important information your talkers offer are their stories. Try to capture the way they talk, and their colorful expressions: "That ship was rolling on the ocean like a marble in your hand."

There's another good reason to bring pen and paper with you. You won't haveto interrupt when you think of a question; just write a note to yourself soyou'll remember to ask it at an appropriate time.

Step 6: Start with easy, friendly questions. Leave the more difficult oremotional material for later in the interview, after you've had time togain your talker's trust. If things aren't going well, you may want to savethose questions for another time.

It's also a good idea to begin with questions about the person you're interviewing. You may be most interested in a great-grandfather if he is the missing link in your Pedigree Chart.But first get some background information about your talker — your aunt, forexample. This serves two purposes. First, it lets her know she's importantto you and that you care about her; second, it may reveal some otherinformation you'd never have known about otherwise. Also, when asking for dates, relate them to your talker. "How old wereyou when Uncle Bill died?" is often a better way of discovering when theevent happened than simply asking, "What year did Uncle Bill die?"

Step 7: Bring family photographs with you, and use them during the interview. Look for photos, artwork, or documents that will help jog your subject'smemory. Bring the pictures out and ask your talker to describe what's goingon. "Do you remember when this was taken? Who are the people? What was theoccasion? Who do you think took the picture?" You may be amazed at how muchdetail Aunt Jesse will see in a photograph.

Step 8: Don't be afraid of silence. You might feel uneasy and want to rush in withanother question when your talker stops speaking. Don't. Silence is animportant part of interviewing, and it can sometimes lead to veryinteresting results. Because people find silence uncomfortable, they oftentry to fill it if you don't — and in doing so, they may say something youmight not have heard otherwise.

Sometimes silence is also necessary for gathering thoughts. Don'tforget — you are asking your subjects to think back on things they may nothave considered in years. Calling up these memories may spark otherthoughts, too. Allow your subject time to ponder. You may be thrilled withwhat he or she remembers.

Step 9: Be ready to ask the same question a few different ways. People don'tknow how much they know, and rephrasing a question can give you moreinformation. This happens all the time. "I don't know," a relative will tell you, sometimes impatiently. They do know — they just don't know that theyknow. The most common version of this is when an interviewer asks,"What was your father's mother's name?" The relative answers, "I never knew her. I don't know." But a few minutes later, in response to "Whom were you named after?" this answer comes: "My father's mother."

Try to find a couple of ways to ask important questions. You never can besure what you will learn.

Step 10: Ask to see any family treasures your relatives own. When your talkers bring out an heirloom , ask them to describe what you're looking at. What is it? How was it used? Who made it? Who gave it to them? Ask if there are any stories connected with it, or any documents.

Step 11: Be sensitive to what you discover. Sometimes people become emotionaltalking about the past. They may remember relatives long dead, or forgottentragedies. If your talker is upset by a memory, either remain silent, orquietly ask, "Is it all right if we talk some more about this? Or would yourather not?" People frequently feel better when they talk about sad things;you should gently give your relative the choice of whether to go on.

Step 12: Try not to interrupt. If your talker strays from the subject, let himor her finish the story and then say, "Let's get back to Uncle Moe," or,"You said something earlier about. . ." Not interrupting makes theconversation friendlier, and may lead you to something you didn't expect.

Step 13: Ask for songs, poems, unusual memories. You may discover somethingwonderful when you ask your subject if she recalls the rhymes she used torecite while jumping rope as a little girl, or the hymns she sang inchurch. Probe a little here — ask about childhood games and memories, smellsand tastes and sounds. Although you are the expert when it comes to your family and probably knowwhat questions to ask, here are a few suggestions:

Personalities and relationships. "Tell me about your parents: Whatkind of people were they? What was most important to them? Did they have agood marriage? What do you remember most vividly about them? What was yourrelationship like with your mother/father/sister/brother?"

Economic conditions. "How did the family earn money? Who worked? How didyour family compare to others in the neighborhood — richer or poorer or inthe middle? Who handled the family finances? Were there any major economicsetbacks? Were there any big successes? What kinds of things did the familyspend money on?"

Family characteristics. "Were there a lot of people in the family whoresembled each other? What were the most outstanding familycharacteristics? Are there any diseases that run in the family? Anyphysical oddities? Was anyone in our family famous or notorious? Was therea 'black sheep' in the family? Do you remember any big family celebrationor event, or a crisis in the family?"

Questions that explore the links between family members can turn upwonderful anecdotes. Be sure to ask about family "characters," and try toget a sense of how they were received within the family.

Family facts. You will always be trying to fill in the blanks on your Pedigree Chart and Family Group Sheets. Show your subject the charts and ask: "After whom were you named? Do you know the names of your parents' parents? Do you know anyone whowould know more than you do about that branch of the family? Where are members of our family buried? Is there a family burial plot?What did great-grandma, etc., die of?"

Life in the Old Country and the trip over (for immigrants). "Tell me why you came to America. Did any member of the family come to America before you? Who, when, and why did they? What did you do when you came here? What kind of work did you do in the Old Country? What did you do forentertainment in the Old Country? Do you remember anything about your trip to America?"

If you are lucky enough to have relatives who remember their immigration, question them carefully. There's a lot of richness — and family history — inthose memories.

After the Interview Your interview should not last more than about an hour. People do best when they are not tired. If you think there's more to talk about, scheduleanother interview. That will give you time to review your notes andconsider any other questions you might want to ask. It will also give yourrelative time to remember more things.

After you've done the interviewing, your hardest, most important work liesahead. You have to go through the information and analyze it. What have youlearned? Did you discover any new relatives, or find out about something worth following up?How accurate is what you have learned?

If you recorded the interview, transcribe it — that is, write or type up theimportant things your talker told you. Review the information. Take out your Family Group Sheets and see if you can add to any of them. Maybe you'll have the name of a third son in a family you've never heard of, or the address of a home that your grandparents lived in. Write everything in its appropriate place, and be sure to indicate where the information came from.

There's one last, very important step: thanking your talkers. They have been generous with their time, energy, and memories. Sending them a thank-you note and a copy of the interview (for corrections and additions) is a way to show that you value what they've shared.

Excerpted from Do People Grow On Family Trees? Copyright 1991 by Ira Wolfman and the Statue of Liberty-Ellis IslandFoundation, Inc. Used by permission of Workman Publishing Co., Inc., New York.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior writtenpermission of Workman Publishing Co., Inc.

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100 Best Family History Interview Questions

You will find the best 100 family history interview questions in this post. These questions will help you conduct a detailed family history interview to create an original source for your family tree research.

Documenting your family history by talking to living relatives is the best way to start your journey into genealogy. The story of a person’s life is intricate, and we want to get highlights as well as details.

I have included 100 question ideas in this post. To conduct your interview, choose a selection of the questions that you think are most relevant to the relative that you will speak with for your interview.

Here are some tips for making the best use of this list of these questions:

• If you would like to ask a lot of questions, consider conducting your interview in more than one session
• Avoid asking questions with a simple yes or no answer. We learn the most when our relatives tell stories about things we would not have thought to ask specifically about.
• Choose from a variety of the categories of questions below to be sure you give your relative a chance to talk about many aspects of their life.
• Be sure to listen carefully to your relative and ask follow-up questions based on their answers, even if the question is not on your list.

Finally, don’t forget to consider conducting this type of family history interview on yourself. Who better to tell the details of your story than you?

Now, let’s get started with the list of 100 questions!

Family History interview questions about identification information

The first category of questions that you should ask are basic personal identification questions. Of course you already know who your relative is, but you might not know every answer to the questions listed below.

• What was your full name at birth?
• Do you know why your parents chose to give you that name?
• When were you born?
• Where were you born?
• What were the names of your parents?
• If you had siblings, what were their names?
• If you know the names of your grandparents, what were they?
• Where did your family come from?
• Why did you move to where you currently live?
• What are other places where you have lived?

Family history interview questions about childhood

Your relative’s childhood played a crucial role in forming their adult identity. A complete interview will include a few questions about childhood experiences.

• What is your earliest memory from your childhood?
• What do you remember about the home that you grew up in?
• What kind of traditions did your family have growing up?
• What is your favorite memory of your mother?
• If you practiced a religion, which religion was it?
• Did your grandparents have any unusual customs?
• Are there any traditions or customs from your childhood that you still practice?
• What was the name of your favorite childhood friend?
• If you ever took a trip or vacation as a child, where did you go?
• Who was the oldest relative that you remember meeting as a child?
• What was the strangest food that you remember eating while growing up?

Family history questions about family life

One of the most important aspects of an individual’s life is their role as a family member. Whether it be as a child, parent, sibling, or cousin, documenting a person’s role in their family is important.

• Would you describe the family that you grew up with as close? Why or why not?
• How important is family history or genealogy to your immediate and extended family?
• Describe a holiday or celebratory meal that you remember from your childhood.
• What is the name of your spouse?
• What are the full names of all of your children?
• What were the favorite traditions practiced by your family?
• What were your favorite activities to do as a family?
• Where did you usually take your family on vacations?
• What type of family gatherings were held by yourself or your immediate/extended family as adults?
• How do you preserve family memories?

Family history questions about jobs and employment

• What did you want to be when you grew up?
• What did your parents do for a living?
• Which occupations did your grandparents have?
• Did any members of your family have their own business?
• Which occupations did your parents encourage you to choose?
• What was your very first job?
• What would you consider to be your main occupation?
• Why did you choose the career that you did?
• What would you consider to be your biggest professional accomplishment?
• If you had multiple careers, what were they?
• What job did you have that you think might surprise me?
• What would your dream job be?

Family history questions about social life

An active social life is very important for many people. Learning about your relative’s friends and other social relationships can provide important insight into their life.

• What was the name of your earliest childhood friend?
• How did you meet your first best friend?
• Who was your best friend in high-school?
• How important were your friends as a young adult?
• Who is your oldest (longest time) friend?
• Is there a friend that you lost touch with?
• How often do you see currently see your friends?
• Who would you say your closest friend is today?
• What kinds of activities do you currently do with your friends?
• How important have your friends been to you throughout your life?

Family history questions about hobbies and recreation

Hobbies and recreational activities are part of what makes us unique – and human. By documenting our relative’s hobbies, we gain important knowledge about our family.

• What kind of hobbies did your mother and father have?
• What were your three favorite hobbies?
• How big of a role would you say that your hobbies play in your life?
• Where did you learn about those hobbies?
• How old were you when you started participating in these activities?
• Did you play any sports as a child or an adult?
• Did you pass your knowledge of a hobby on to another family member?
• How would you spend a day right now if you could do anything you wanted?
• How would you have spent a day 20 years ago if you could have done anything?
• What is something that you wish you had learned how to do?
• If you could have been skilled at a sport, which sport would you choose?

Family history questions about education

Education is very important to many families. These questions will help you document your family’s education philosophies, as well as where and how your relative was educated.

• What was the highest level of education that your mother completed?
• What is the highest level of education that your father completed?
• What is the highest level of education that you completed?
• How important would you say that education was to your parents?
• Did any of your grandparents go to college?
• How important was education to you when you were raising your family?
• What was the name of your high school?
• What was the name of your college?
• Which degree or diploma did you receive?
• If you could have chosen to study something else, what would you have studied, and why?

Family history questions about religion and spirituality

For many people, religion is an important part of their life and belief system. Religion is often something that is passed down in families, and religious institutions are often a really great place to find genealogy records .

• Which religion did your maternal grandparents practice?
• Which religion did your paternal grandparents practice?
• Which religion did your family choose to practice when you were growing up?
• How did your parents decide which religion to practice?
• What are the most memorable religious customs your family had when you were growing up?
• Which religious traditions did you choose to
• Which religion did you practice as an adult?
• Would you consider yourself to be a religious or spiritual person?
• What role would you say that religion or spirituality played in your adult life?
• If you attended religious services, where did you attend?
• Which religion outside your own do you find most interesting?

Family history questions about community

• What types of community activities did you and your family participate in while you were growing up?
• Which of those community activities did you continue to participate in as an adult?
• What types of community activities do you do now that you didn’t do as a child?
• How much influence do you think that your parents or grandparents had in affecting the community activities that you participate in as an adult?
• How important do you think that it is to feel comfortable in the community that you live in?
• What are the aspects of your community that you enjoy the most?
• Do you feel that you are an important member of your community? Why or why not?
• What do you think has been the biggest contribution to your local community?
• What do you think could be improved about your community?
• Who is the most notable local member of your community?

Family history questions about health

• Did your parents have any major health conditions?
• Did your grandparents have any major health conditions?
• Do you remember any “old wives tale” advice from your parents or grandparents?
• What is your best advice for staying healthy?
• How important is taking good care of your health to you?

I hope that this post has helped give you lots of ideas for questions to ask during your family history interviews. Documenting your family’s story is a great way to preserve memories and information for future generations!

The file below is a free PDF download of basic family history questions to get you started on your family history interview:

If you have any questions about something that you read in this post, or if you would like to add your own suggestions for questions to ask, please join us in the discussion below!

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The genealogy interview: Asking relatives questions to grow your family tree

Have you had the chance to sit down with your relatives and capture their knowledge of the family? 

If you're a beginner, this is the absolute perfect place to start gathering details about your ancestors. And even if you're an experienced genealogist, conducting some conversational interviews with your family members can help you break through brick walls. 

Perhaps most importantly, sitting down with your relatives can result in amazing stories being shared - if you capture them properly, they can become treasured family heirlooms themselves. Your notes from these conversations can help form the basis of your first (or next) research question , and can also be useful to bring to a consultation with a professional genealogist .  

To be successful, you need to go in with a plan or you won't wind up capturing much useful information or many share-worthy family stories.

However, this doesn't mean constructing a massive list of questions to interrogate your relatives with one by one - that's far from the optimal approach! 

It's best to be flexible and open-minded, but there are several things to know that will make this effort far more successful. We consulted some of our genealogy experts and collected their advice into a list of top tips. Read on to see what they had to share with us! 

1. Consider sitting down with groups or pairs

The first thing to be aware of is that the initial experience can be slightly awkward - after all, most of our relatives are not used to getting interviewed, and most us aren't used to conducting interviews! 

This is why it's important to make the setting as natural as possible. The more it seems like a conversation to all involved, the better (more tips on this below).

One way to facilitate a comfortable setting is to ask groups or pairs of people to sit down with you - this can help some feel less shy by sharing the spotlight, and it can also create the opportunity for amazing interchanges and complementary answers from members of the group.

Think about the amazing stories a set of siblings can come up with or the loving back-and-forth you might capture from a couple that has been married for decades. 

2. Don't just find facts—collect stories 

There are two general categories of questions to ask and information to seek.

Finding out genealogically relevant facts - such as a marriage date, name of a grandparent, where an immigrant ancestor was born in the old country - is absolutely a worthy goal. Don't be shy about posing questions that directly ask for the information you're seeking.

However, direct questions like this can sometimes cause people to draw a blank - even when answered, the answer may not be very interesting. Our experts always point out that it's really important to ask more fluid, conversational questions - these kinds of questions will generate more spontaneous, story-based responses.

Sometimes we overlook asking about stories because we're so focused on names and dates. Those are certainly important, but keep in mind that those details may be most easily discovered through a story. 

3. Ask creative questions to get the best stories  

In general, asking open-ended, creative questions can often result in the most interesting answers and stories - knowing a little bit about the relative's life can give you some good ideas.

NYG&B President, D. Joshua Taylor, had a great suggestion here: 

“Usually, around the holidays I always center questions around food - this might seem funny, but after all, food involves the senses, which are closely tied to memory. You can smell and taste food, so if someone can’t answer a question such as “where did you go to school,” you might ask – “what was lunch like when you went to school?” Or alternatively, "do you remember a meal that your mother would have made for you when you came home from school?"

And that sometimes triggers a conversation about school that can allow natural memories to surface. You'll often get a better answer than if you just pinned them down and asked: “What was the first year you attended school?”

Other topics you may want to ask about are summer vacations, family trips, or more generally where or with whom they celebrated the holidays in years past. 

4. Seek the same information you do in other research - names, dates, and places

If you're looking to get information that can help you begin your family tree, or if you're looking for information to solve a specific research question , focus on the usual key genealogical information:

• The names of individuals involved in events or stories
• The date an event occurred (if memory is fuzzy, even a ballpark estimate is useful) 
• The place an event or story took place

Collecting this information will help you fill in basic details on individual relatives and ancestors, and this information can then be proven definitively with further research. Knowing general dates and places is crucial for deciding what record sets and repositories to look in to answer your research question. 

Even though you may be seeking specific information, creativity can be useful here as well. For instance, instead of asking "where did you live in 1940?" you may want to calculate the rough age of the relative you're speaking to. If you knew your grandparent was young in 1940, you might instead ask "where did you live when you went to grade school?" 

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5. Ask about parents and grandparents, but don't forget about collateral relatives

Because we often are thinking about direct descendants when doing genealogy, we tend to ask questions about a relative's parents or grandparents. 

But don't forget about the other relatives! 

It's possible that due to a distant relationship with a given ancestor, your relative may not have much information to offer. But many will have spent a lot of time with aunts, uncles, and cousins. Asking the question, "who did you grow up with" can often give you an idea of who your relative knew best, and may provide good direction for further questions to ask. 

Remember, every piece of information you can collect on your family is a potential clue, even if it doesn't directly answer a question you're investigating - you may find that the birthplace of an aunt gives you meaningful direction in answering future research questions. 

6. Make use of photo albums

There are many reasons busting out an old photo album can lead to amazing stories or crucial information. First of all, it's an activity that is familiar to many of us, especially at family gatherings - sitting next to someone and looking through photos may make the relative more comfortable than sitting face-to-face. 

Susan R. Miller, editor of the NYG&B's  New York Researcher  magazine, and a managing editor of the New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer , had some additional reasons why photo albums are a great tool to use: 

"Showing pictures and looking through old photo albums can always jog the memory. If you see a picture of someone, just ask about the person – did you ever spend any time with them, did you ever visit with them or travel with them? Asking about the stories behind pictures, or asking for more information about the time or place of the photo can also generate stories." 

7. Use an audio recorder

This one is a must! Thanks to modern technology, you don't need to have advanced technical skills to pull this off - almost all phones now have built-in audio recorders that are very easy to use. If you have a smart phone, there are plenty of apps that can make recording very simple and effective as well. 

If you don't use a recorder, you will be constantly scribbling notes and won't be able to pay full attention to the flow of the conversation. You may miss major opportunities for further questions and stories. 

You'll also want to save the interview and refer back to it later. Not only for informational purposes, but for the stories and voices of your family members. Many people who make such recordings treasure them for years, and they can easily be shared with other relatives. 

8. Go with the flow! 

You may go into the conversation with a set idea of the things you’ll discuss, or perhaps you’ll be seeking a very specific piece of information. But these types of conversations can go in any direction - especially if you’re sitting down with a pair or group of relatives.

One story may trigger another memory and another story, and before you know it you’re very far away from the topic of the original question – if this happens, that’s great! Just go with it, and you'll be surprised at the gems you uncover. 

9. Treat the information like any other genealogical source

As with any oral history or other genealogical source, you should consider who the informant is and their relationship to the information they’re providing. Ask yourself – is this something the person had firsthand knowledge of, or is it something they may have heard from a second-hand source themselves?

Also, consider the imperfection of memory, and if anyone who passed along this information had a reason to obfuscate or exaggerate the details. Of course, we all should be doing this with any genealogical source we encounter, whether it’s a marriage certificate, census record, or oral interview.  

Consideration should always be rooted in those core genealogical research tenets – it’s always crucial to think critically about your sources.

10. What to do when you're finished

After you have completed your interview or interviews, return to the recording and pull out any key facts that you think are relevant to your family history. You can use these pieces of information to form the basis of a research question , which you can then find documentary evidence to prove or disprove. Scanning and labeling any key pictures that were identified or relevant to the information you collected is also a great idea.

Another really great thing to do is preserve the audio files by backing them up somewhere – you may also want to share them with other family members, either by emailing the recordings around (assuming you have permission to share them of course), or uploading them to a place where your family can privately access them.

11. Just go for it! 

The last and most important piece of advice is to just go for it! Yearly family gatherings are relatively rare occasions, so don’t pass up this golden opportunity.

No need to wait until you have a specific piece of information to seek, or until you have that perfect question or interview subject. Talk to anyone and everyone willing to sit down with you.

In the end, time with all of our family is limited, so don't miss an opportunity at the next family gathering! Many people regret not having these wonderful conversations until it's too late - start preserving your family history today! 

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117 Interview Questions to Ask Your Family

As genealogists, we must always think about how to obtain the information we want in the most efficient way. When questioning family members, what are the best interview questions to ask to get a clearer picture of our relatives’ past, especially within a limited time frame?

Preserve your family history on MyHeritage

It is often quite difficult to come up with great questions on the spot. So here we offer a collection of 117 questions to take with you when you’re interviewing relatives. These are sure to get your relatives talking!

• Do you share a name with someone else in the family?
• Did you have a nickname growing up? If so, what was it and why?
• Have you had a nickname as an adult?
• When and where were you born?
• What was your parents’ and grandparents’ religion?
• Do you follow a religion?
• Where was your first house?
• What other houses did you live in?
• What are your earliest memories of your home?
• Can you tell me a story or memory about your brothers and sisters?
• What are your brothers and sisters’ full names?
• What did your family do for leisure when you were a child?
• Were there tasks you hated doing when you were a child?
• What types of books do you like to read?
• Do you remember a favorite lullaby or song?
• When times were tough, do you remember having enough food?
• What were your favorite toys?
• What were your favorite games?
• Was there any fashion that you liked the most?
• What school did you go to and where was it?
• How did you feel about going to school?
• What was your favorite subject at school and why?
• Which subject was the most difficult?
• Who was your favorite teacher and why?
• What is your favorite school memory?
• What were your grades like?
• What did you wear to school?
• What sports did you participate in at school?
• Was there a meeting place where you liked to spend time?
• Did you receive any special awards for studies or activities at school?
• How many years of education have you completed?
• Describe what you were like as a young adult.
• Do you have a technical diploma or degree?
• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
• What was your first job?
• How old were you when you retired?
• How did you decide on your profession?
• What jobs have you done over the years?
• If you were in the military, what were your duties and when and where did you serve?
• How old were you when you started going out at night?
• Do you remember your first date?
• When and where did you meet your current partner?
• How long did you know each other before getting married?
• How did you propose?
• When and where did you get married?
• Describe the ceremony.
• Who was present? (witnesses, bridesmaids, etc.)
• Did you have a honeymoon? Where?
• Have you been married more than once?
• How would you describe your spouse?
• What do you most admire about him or her?
• How long have you been married?
• When and where did your spouse die?
• What advice would you give to a child or grandchild for their wedding day?
• How did you find out you were going to be a parent for the first time?
• How many children do you have?
• What are their names, dates of birth and where do they currently live?
• Why did you give them those names?
• Do you remember things that your children did when they were little that really surprised you?
• What is one of the funniest things your children did when they were little?
• What was the most fun you had while raising your kids?
• If you had to do it again, what would you change about the way you raised your family?
• What was the most challenging part of raising children?
• Did you consider yourself as a strict parent?
• What was the most rewarding thing about parenting?
• Did any of your children break anything of yours?
• Did you have to treat any of your children differently? Why?
• How did you feel when your oldest child began school?
• What advice would you give your children and grandchildren about being a parent?
• Where did your in-laws live?
• When and where did your parents die? What do you remember about them?
• How did they die? Where were they hospitalized?
• Which cemetery are they buried in?
• What do you remember about the death of your in-laws?
• Do you remember listening to your grandparents talking about their lives? What did they say?
• Did you ever meet any of your great-grandparents?
• Who was the oldest person you remember from when you were a child?
• Did you suffer from any childhood illnesses?
• Do you have any genetic health problems?
• Do you exercise regularly?
• Have you ever had any bad habits?
• Have you ever been a victim of a crime?
• Have you had any major accidents?
• Has anyone ever saved your life?
• Have you ever been hospitalized? For what?
• Have you ever had surgery?
• What do you consider the most important inventions in your lifetime?
• Do you remember the first time you saw a car, a TV or a refrigerator?
• How different was the world when you were a child?
• Do you remember your family talking about politics?
• How would you define yourself politically?
• Did you live through any war?
• Have you admired any president or world leader that you’ve seen in power?
• How did you live the days of food shortages?
• Tell me the name of a good friend who has been your friend for many years.
• Has there been anyone in your life that you would consider a soul mate? Who was it and why do you feel that special bond?
• What are the hardest decisions you’ve had to make?
• Who has changed your life?
• If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
• What is the most difficult thing you have ever experienced?
• Have you ever played a musical instrument?
• Do you consider yourself creative?
• What’s the funniest joke you’ve ever known?
• What activities have you enjoyed as an adult?
• What are your hobbies?
• What do you like to do when you are not working?
• What is the most incredible thing that has happened to you?
• Have you ever met someone famous?
• Who were your grandparents?
• Where were they from?
• How do you feel about your major decisions in life, such as profession, studies, and spouse?
• What organizations or groups did you belong to?
• Have you ever won an award as an adult?
• What is the longest trip you’ve ever made?
• What has been your favorite vacation spot?
• What pets have you had?
• Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but have not done yet?

Make sure to check out our hints and tips for interviewing family members.

10 Tips for Interviewing Family Members

Let us know how it goes, and which questions were most successful!

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28 Best Family History Interview Tips You Need to Know

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Conducting the interview in itself is an opportunity to enjoy the meaningful interactions that are the heartbeat of a family. These need-to-know tips for talking to family will help you make the most of that gift and offer something even better in return: the unique story of your family.

All tips written by Karen Edwards, unless otherwise noted.

1. Decide on the scope. 

“Where to start on an oral history project depends on what you want from it,” says Doug Boyd, president of the Oral History Association  and director of the Louis B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky. “Do you want all family stories, or just certain aspects of them?” 

For example, you might decide to ask about relatives who are WWII vets, or focus on family members who emigrated. You could focus on a particular research problem (such as unidentified photos) or let the occasion determine your focus (a holiday party is ripe for asking about family recipes or Christmases past). Once you know the scope of your project, then you can decide who to interview and what kinds of questions to ask.

2. Consider everyone. 

Don’t just focus on older folks for your interviews. Cousins in your own generation may have heard stories you didn’t, or received caches of old photos. Your siblings may remember different stories about how your parents met or your childhood home. Also think about family friends, neighbors, coworkers and clergy. 

3. Prioritize your interview list. 

Determine whom you’ll need to interview and prioritize it according to risks, suggests Pamela Henson, historian with the Institutional History Division of the Smithsonian . “Oral historians use the ‘actuarial imperative,’ that is, who’s likely to die the soonest— which is often the oldest,” she says. But anyone facing memory loss or serious health challenges would move up the list. Boyd adds that you also should prioritize anyone who may be moving away soon. Of course, folks in town for the holidays also are prime candidates.

4. Schedule an appointment.

Procrastination is one of the biggest obstacles you’ll face in interviewing, so just do it: Pick up the phone or email the relative you want to interview and schedule an appointment. It helps to introduce yourself as “so-and-so’s oldest daughter” if the person knows who your mom or dad is, and say, “I’m interested in our family history, and I’d like to ask you a few questions about it when you have some time.”

You also could have another relative you both know make the first contact, and then follow up with a call and say, “I’m the person Jill called you about.” If you live in different time zones, make sure you’re clear on the interview time in both your and your source’s locations.

Tip provided by Lisa Louise Cook e

5. Prepare and practice your questions.

Because time is limited, preparation is key to interview success. You may get only one shot at each family history interview, so careful preparation will ensure you don’t miss an important scoop.

Start by determining the goal of your interview. What’s the outcome you want? What information is most important for you to obtain? Next, make a list of topics that you’ve been eager to learn more about and develop questions that address them. Write specific, open-ended questions covering areas such as the relative’s military service, first job, family traditions, childhood memories, education, marriage, parents and grandparents, siblings, and so on.

Finally, group your questions by topic and prioritize them. You might not get to ask everything, so be sure you know which questions are the most important to cover. And remember, if you ask a question that can be answered with a “yes” or a “no,” that’s the response you’ll get.

As a genealogy speaker, I practice and record myself giving presentations to work out the kinks. If you’re a rookie interviewer, do what lecturers do and conduct a test run. Invite a friend to help you do a practice interview. Not only will you learn what works well and what doesn’t, but you will also learn more about your buddy and ensure your recording devices work properly.

6. Gather your supplies.

As with any type of project, having the right tools makes the job easier. Here’s a list of equipment to consider .

7. Introduce yourself. 

Shy about approaching relatives you don’t know? “Send a note introducing yourself and describing your project,” Henson says. Handwritten notes work best for older relatives, but you can email or text more recent generations. “Follow up with a phone call where you arrange a time to meet,” Henson adds. If the relative says “no” to an interview, be respectful of that.

8. Try a pre-interview meeting. 

For a formal or lengthy interview, you might meet briefly beforehand. “Don’t tape record or take notes. Just meet over coffee or tea and chat. You want to establish rapport and build their trust, so when you do meet for an official interview, the awkwardness is gone,” Boyd says. 

9. Come up with questions. 

Consult Family Tree Magazine ‘s list of family history interview questions and prompts . Also turn to other online resources such as the Smithsonian’s oral history guide  and the UCLA Center for Oral History Research .

10. Research your relatives. 

To help you formulate questions, learn as much as you can about each person on your list. Review your research for information. Check old newspapers for articles mentioning births, weddings, graduations, sports, military service and other activities. Look in old yearbooks. Your notes will be handy memory-joggers for the interview. “Sometimes, if an older relative can’t remember the name or a date, they freeze, then get frustrated,” Henson says. If you can provide the information, the interview can continue. 

11. Research the time and place, too. 

Research what’s taken place in the world during your relative’s lifetime, both locally and on a broader scale. Ask about historic events, such as the hometown’s bicentennial parade, the Vietnam War and the Blizzard of ’78. Ask what life was like at the time, how your relative participated or what the event meant.

12. Go off-script when needed. 

Prepare interview questions based on your genealogy research and any information missing from your family tree, but be ready to go off-script. 

“The most important questions aren’t the ones you’ve prepared, they’re the follow-up questions you ask during the interview,” Boyd says. For example, if you ask Aunt Mary what career path she followed, the response may be teacher—but don’t stop there. “Ask her what grade she taught, ask about the students, what the classrooms were like,” Boyd says. “Keep asking until you can’t think of another question to ask.” 

Your list likely includes questions you must have the answer to. To make sure you cover them, Henson suggests putting stars by those questions and asking them first. 

13. Don’t send questions ahead of time. 

“You can tell the person what general topics you’ll cover,” Henson says, “but if you send a list of your questions, you’ll likely get rehearsed responses.” 

Still, knowing the kind of subject matter you’re interested in will help your relative start thinking about those times and places. He may even gather some family photos or documents for you. “It also may help relatives who are hesitant about doing an interview,” says Henson. “They might be more comfortable talking with you if they know in advance the topics you’ll ask about.”

14. Bring along visuals. 

Gather old family photographs and documents to bring to the interview or family get-together. “Photographs can spark memories,” says Henson. You might show your relative a photo of the house where he or she grew up, and ask her to tell you about the house and the neighborhood. “If people are pictured,” Henson says, “ask your relative, ‘Who are these people?’” 

Maps also can be great prompts, Boyd says. Especially if an area has been redeveloped, destroyed by a natural disaster or changed in some other way, ask about the area as it existed before, and how those changes happened.

15. Choose your technology. 

You’ll want to record an interview, whether on audio or video. If using a digital recorder, ideally, you and your relative will be miked. You also could use two strategically placed microphones. “If you record with your smartphone, know how much space you have on it,” Boyd cautions. “You don’t want to be in the middle of an interview and find you’ve run out of space.” And do a test recording in advance to make sure everything’s working smoothly.

Planning to video record the interview? Make certain your subject is well lit, Boyd says. And it’s often a better interview if you ask your relative to do something—perhaps prepare a recipe or work in his woodshop—“so it’s not just a talking head,” says Boyd.  

16. Be ready to capture spontaneous moments. 

Even if you’re just headed to a family gathering, you want to be able to hit Record when Dad starts storytelling over dessert. A digital recorder or your smartphone with an app such as Easy Voice Recorder (Android) is handy for these spontaneous opportunities. If possible, use a microphone attachment on your phone, or a Bluetooth microphone that’s compatible with the app. Some recording apps, such as StoryVault , automatically upload the digital file to your online account at the companion site. But make sure you also have a copy of the file on your device in a standard format (such as WAV or MP3). 

Check Boyd’s blog, Digital Omnium , for reviews of smartphones, attachments and other interview technology. 

17. Prepare for the worst. 

Bring charging cords and extra batteries for your devices, as well as a printed copy of your questions.

18. Start on the right foot. 

“A good way to begin is ‘Tell me about yourself,’” Boyd suggests. To keep building trust with your interviewee, make eye contact as you talk. Sit forward to show your interest and ask follow-up questions about the people, places and events your relative mentions. 

19. Ask the tough questions, but know when to quit. 

Questions about a traumatic event in the relative’s life, such as military service or a loved one’s death, may be difficult. That doesn’t mean you should shy away from them, Boyd says. You may find your relative wants to discuss a time of struggle, and building trust makes him more likely to respond. But tread with sensitivity and care. Give your relative time to answer, and if he’s still reluctant, move on to something else. “Questions like these may take time,” Boyd says. “You may need several interviews before the relative is ready to respond, if they respond at all.” 

20. Be gently persistent. 

Some relatives are slow to open up about themselves. That’s when you need to communicate your interest with your posture and eye contact. Don’t be overbearing, but don’t give up. The same is true if they have trouble remembering events or people. Use photos to jog memories. Henson recalls photos of her dad as a boy with a similarly aged companion. Her father couldn’t remember the boy’s name, and neither could anyone else. “But he was in too many photos for this person not to be significant,” Henson says. She periodically asked her father about the boy. One day, he looked at the photo and suddenly said, “That’s Jack.” 

Jack was a cousin who’d been struck and killed by a car at age 5. The family had erased the painful incident from their collective memory. Through patient questioning, Henson says, “I was able to bring Jack back from obscurity and into the family.”

21. Listen and record. 

Different family members may tell different stories about an event. As the family historian, be willing to hear the differences without comment or judgment. Simply record what you hear. If someone brings up a family legend or myth, record that as well. “You might be able to corroborate the story, but even if you can’t, it’s worth recording because the story tells you something about that family and what it values,” Henson says.

22. Wrap up. 

Before you conclude the interview, ask your relative if there is anything you didn’t ask that he or she wants to talk about, Boyd suggests. You’ve prepared and asked your questions—now give the other person a chance. Thank your relative for the interview, and if you think you need a second one, now is the time to ask. 

23. Send a thank-you note. 

You’ve thanked your relative in person, but especially for older relatives, it’s nice to send a handwritten note. Let the person know something you learned from him and, if possible, how it fits into your genealogy research.

24. Transcribe the interview. 

Transcribing the interview will create a backup paper copy and give you another way to share it. You can use a transcription service (search online for oral history transcription service ) or do it yourself. Henson often transcribes by hand, which helps her process the material and spot any gaps to fill in with follow-up questions. 

25. Save it forever. 

Back up your recording to a cloud service just as you do your digitized photos and documents. Backup options are many and include Amazon Drive  or Backblaze . Family tree sites such as MyHeritage  let you add recordings to your tree (the site even has a mobile recording app to make the process seamless), but don’t make this version your archival backup. 

Boyd suggests finding an archival partner to preserve your recordings. A local library, historical society or university (such as the Nunn center) may be able to take the recording into its collection, or staff may be able recommend an appropriate archive. 

26. Use gatherings as a springboard. 

Holidays offer spur-of-the-moment opportunities to ask relatives questions about your family’s past. “Take time to ask questions when relatives are gathered,” Henson says. “Take notes on good stories.” You might arrange a time for a more formal interview. Ask the person who else you should talk to. 

“These moments are also a good time to determine which relative has the family photo albums, or the family Bible,” Henson adds. If the Bible includes information like births, deaths and marriages, schedule a time to meet with the relative and see what information you can glean from it. 

27. Remember, stories are subjective. 

Interviewing relatives is recommended as a beginning research step, but it’s useful no matter how long you’ve been doing genealogy. Oral histories can reveal otherwise unrecorded stories and information. But remember that oral histories aren’t the same as facts. Memories fade, details get confused and personal bias creeps in. Cite the interview as the source of the information and try to corroborate relatives’ assertions in genealogical records.

28. Look for the gems. 

Several years ago, a novelist asked Boyd about a soldier from Campbellsville, Ky., who’d fought in the 1944 WWII battle at Tremensuoli, Italy. The writer had traveled to Tremensuoli and come across the name “M.A. Webb” and “C-ville Kentucky 1944” carved in a wall.

“We found the oral history for a Marshall Webb,” Boyd says, bringing to light the story of an ordinary soldier whose efforts to memorialize himself so far from home had been lost to obscurity. Boyd then met Webb’s widow and two of their children. “They gave us photos and papers of that time, as well as 80 poems Webb had written while he was serving in Italy.” 

A recording preserved at the Nunn center includes Webb reading his poetry. “How many people have looked at that name and wondered about it?” Boyd asks. “It’s individual stories like Marshall Webb’s that become part of the historical global record. It’s an example of why oral histories matter.” 

A version of this article appeared in the December 2016 issue of Family Tree Magazine . Tips provided by Lisa Louise Cooke appeared in the January/February 2013 issue .

Karen Edwards

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A great way to uncover clues to your family history or to get great quotes for journaling in a heritage scrapbook is a family interview. By asking the right open-ended questions, you're sure to collect a wealth of family tales . Use this list of family history interview questions to help you get started, but be sure to personalize the interview with your own questions as well.

Questions About Their Childhood

• What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname ?
• When and where were you born?
• How did your family come to live there?
• Were there other family members in the area? Who?
• What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?
• Were there any special items in the house that you remember?
• What is your earliest childhood memory?
• Describe the personalities of your family members.
• What kind of games did you play growing up?
• What was your favorite toy and why?
• What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, go to the beach, etc.)?
• Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?
• Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?
• What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?
• What school activities and sports did you participate in?
• Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?
• Who were your childhood heroes?
• What were your favorite songs and music genres?
• Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?
• What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?
• Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?
• Who were your friends when you were growing up?

Questions About the Family

• What world events had the most impact on you when you were a child? Did any of them personally affect your family?
• Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods ?
• How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?
• How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?
• Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?
• What do you know about your family surname ?
• Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?
• What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?
• Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?
• Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?
• Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?
• Are there any special heirlooms , photos, bibles, or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?

Questions About Their Adult Life

• What was the full name of your spouse? Siblings? Parents?
• When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?
• What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?
• Where and when did you get married?
• What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?
• How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?
• What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?
• How did you find out you were going to be a parent for the first time?
• Why did you choose your children's names?
• What was your proudest moment as a parent?
• What did your family enjoy doing together?
• What was your profession and how did you choose it?
• If you could have had any other profession, what would it have been? Why wasn't this your first choice?
• Of all the things you learned from your parents, what do you feel was the most valuable?
• What accomplishments are you most proud of?
• What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?

While these questions make great conversation starters, the best way to uncover the good stuff is through more of a storytelling session than a Q&A. 

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36 questions to ask your family members to get to know them better.

When it comes to family, we can sometimes assume we already know all there is to know about one another, especially with family members you grew up with and/or those you see fairly regularly.

But just like we invest time and energy into getting to know our partners better , it's worth it to stay curious about our family members and continue learning about them, too. After all, people can change a lot over time, and there are always new things to discover about each other, no matter how much time you've spent together or how well you might think you know someone already.

And especially when it comes to family, learning about each other often helps us learn more about ourselves, too. So much about who we are—from our attachment style in relationships to how we react to stressful situations —is impacted by the people who raised us and the people who came before us .

So, it's worth it to spend the time getting to know our family members, as what makes them who they are is inextricably tied to what makes us who we are.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few questions, from lighthearted and nostalgic to deep and thought-provoking, to ask over your next family dinner to get to know your family members better:

• What was your favorite family tradition growing up? 
• How did you celebrate (Christmas/other important holiday) growing up? 
• What's one of your favorite family recipes, and who taught it to you? 
• How did you and (Dad/Aunt Betty/etc.) meet? 
• When did you know you'd get married? 
• What's your favorite story about (Grandma/Uncle Joe/beloved person)? 
• What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid? 
• Were you a good student growing up?
• Tell us a story of a time you got in trouble at school.  
• What were Grandma and Grandpa (or other elders in the family) like when you were growing up? 
• What's one of your favorite childhood memories?
• What's your favorite memory of (your hometown/another important place)? 
• What's one thing that was hard about your childhood?
• Do you think it was better growing up at the time you did, or would you have preferred to grow up the way kids do today? 
• What was I like as a child? 
• What would be your ideal Saturday? 
• Do you have any routines that you stick to religiously? 
• Is there anything you wish you did more of? Less of?
• If you could wake up with any skill tomorrow, what would you choose?
• Do you identify as an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?
• What's one thing the family probably doesn't know about you? 
• What's one thing you wish you could tell your younger self? 
• If you could do it all over, what career would you choose?
• What's one thing you like about yourself?
• What's one thing you like about me?
• What's one of your core values? 
• Have your values changed at all from the past to what they are today?
• What's one thing that's been bringing you pleasure lately?
• Tell us about one of the happiest moments of your life. 
• What's one thing you love about being in your (30s/40s/50s/etc.)?
• What's one social skill you'd still like to work a little more on, and why?
• What's something you're proud of?
• How do you define success?
• Who made you the way that you are? 
• What's one thing you hope to pass on to your kids? 
• Do you have any family secrets you feel like sharing?

Stay curious and keep asking questions , and you'll find yourself continuing to get to know your family (and yourself!) better and better over time.

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NAMI Family-to-Family is a free, 8-session educational program for family, significant others and friends of people with mental health conditions. It is a designated evidenced-based program. This means that research shows that the program significantly improves the coping and problem-solving abilities of the people closest to a person with a mental health condition.

NAMI Family-to-Family is taught by NAMI-trained family members who have been there, and includes presentations, discussions and interactive exercises.

NAMI Family-to-Family not only provides information and strategies for taking care of the person you love, but you’ll also find out that you’re not alone. Recovery is a journey, and there is hope.

The group setting of NAMI Family-to-Family provides mutual support and shared positive impact—experience compassion and reinforcement from people who understand your situation. Sharing your own experience may help others in your class. In the program, you’ll learn about:

• How to solve problems and communicate effectively
• Taking care of yourself and managing your stress
• Supporting your loved one with compassion
• Finding and using local supports and services
• Up-to-date information on mental health conditions and how they affect the brain
• How to handle a crisis
• Current treatments and therapies
• The impact of mental health conditions on the entire family

“The course gave me hope that it will be okay, that I am not alone and reduced a lot of shame, guilt and hopelessness.”

“I wish I’d known about this seven years ago when the problem began. I felt safe in this class. I was able to talk about things I haven’t been comfortable expressing elsewhere.”

“Before I took the course, I felt alone and overwhelmed dealing with my daughter’s mental illness. By taking this course, I have met others who are going through the same things I am and have learned about many resources that I never knew existed.”

“I thought my wife and I knew just about everything there is to know about the system and the illness. Boy, were we wrong. Without a doubt, this is the best support course I have had the privilege of taking part in, bar none.”

Find the NAMI Family-to-Family class nearest to you.  If a class isn’t available,  contact your local NAMI Affiliate  about starting one.

A Spanish-language version of NAMI Family-to-Family, De Familia a Familia de NAMI, is available in a limited number of states.

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50 Eye-Opening Questions To Ask Your Grandchildren

Parenting reporter

There’s something special about the connection between a grandparent and a grandchild. While this bond goes deeper than words, conversation is a great way to get to know your grandkid and help keep that connection strong.

But getting a conversation started, or keeping one going, isn’t always easy. Maybe your grandchild is on the shy side, you haven’t seen one another in a while or you’re connecting on a video call instead of in person.

A juicy question — the kind that leads them to see something in a new light, or inspires them to tell a story — can get a conversation started, or get it rolling again if you hit a lull.

“The point of asking questions should be to get to know your grandchildren better,” DeeDee Moore, a grandmother who blogs at More Than Grand , told HuffPost.

Asking kids to elaborate with follow-up questions and open-ended prompts like “What makes you say that?” are also a good way to keep kids talking.

“If you ask what their favorite color is, ask why they like it or how that color makes them feel,” Moore suggested.

Part of the joy of asking kids questions is the surprise that their answers may bring, leading your conversation to take an unexpected turn.

“When I asked my four-year-old granddaughter if she had talked to any of her friends at school today, she initially said no,” Moore recounted. “But then she explained, ‘I just meowed because I was a kitty.’ Instead of finding out more about her school day, we ended up having a conversation about how animals talk.”

Here are some questions you can use to start a conversation with a grandkid or to keep one going.

• What’s something you’re really good at? “A great follow up is to ask them to teach you how to do it,” Moore added.
• If you could invite anyone in the whole world to dinner, who would you invite?
• If you could walk into any book or movie, which one would you choose?
• If you could be any animal, which one would you be?
• Would you rather be able to fly like a bird or swim like a fish?
• If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?
• Would you rather be able to tell the future or read other people’s minds?
• What was the last thing that happened that made you laugh?
• What is something kind that someone has done for you?
• What is something about you that I don’t already know?
• What do you think you’ll be doing ten years from now?
• Where in the world would you most like to visit?
• Would you rather travel back to the past or into the future?
• What is something you want to learn how to do?
• What is your favorite thing about yourself?
• Would you rather travel underwater or in outer space?
• If your toy could talk, what would it say?
• What is your favorite time of the year?
• What is something about you that is unique?
• What kind of mom or dad do you think you would be?
• What do you think your pet is thinking right now?
• What would you do with a thousand dollars?
• What would you like to be famous for?
• What makes somebody a good friend?
• Would you rather be tiny like an insect or as tall as a giraffe?
• What do you think is the best smell on earth?
• What was the last dream that you remember?
• When you get bored in school, what do you start thinking about?
• Would you rather be the star of a movie, or the director?
• What is a job that you wouldn’t want to do?
• Do you think it’s ever a good idea to tell a lie?
• How do you show someone that you love them?
• What was your favorite part of the day?
• Who is your favorite person right now?
• Would you want to live forever?
• What would a perfect day look like for you?
• Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet unicorn?
• If you could have any kind of store, what would you want to sell?
• What is the silliest thing you’ve ever done?
• What do you think is the most important rule for people to follow?
• Would you rather dance or paint what you are feeling?
• If you had to eat the same thing for every meal, what food would you choose?
• What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever tasted?
• How can you tell if somebody is smart?
• What is something brave that you have done?
• If you wrote a book, what would the title be?
• If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
• What is something that used to scare you but doesn’t anymore?
• How do you think the world will be different by the time you are a grown up?
• What is something you’ve done that you would like to do again?

More important that the question that gets them talking is how well you listen once you get them started.

“Listening carefully to your grandchildren is the greatest gift you can give them,” Moore said. Remembering details like their friends’ names shows that you’re paying attention and that you care.

“It builds a true connection when you show that you are interested in their lives.”

And while there are advantages to having a conversation face-to-face, like being able to read someone’s body language or decipher their tone, you don’t have to be physically present with your grandchild to make a connection.

Moore explained: “Showing a curiosity for who they are can be done just as easily over video chat or in a letter as it can be over ice cream.”

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UK senior shares keys to research success: Find a mentor, ask questions, take risks

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2024) — Undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky have several chances to invest in themselves and their futures. One way they can build success, gain skills and be prepared for life after graduation is through undergraduate research.

Shria Holla, a Lewis Honors College member and senior mathematical economics major with minors in political science and statistics in the College of Arts and Sciences , has collected a variety of experiences thanks to mentors and opportunities through the UK Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) .

In the summer of 2023, Holla was an economic research intern at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago — one of 12 Federal Reserve Banks in the country. Working with the microeconomics team, she used her data skills on projects studying the association between parents’ and children’s health within the United Kingdom, to a study on female employment during World War II.

“The internship was wonderful and I learned a lot about long-term research projects,” said Holla. “I wouldn’t have known about it without guidance from my professors and multiple mentors in the Economics Department. Darshak Patel, Gatton’s director of undergraduate studies, and Professor James Ziliak, especially, asked me to keep this on my radar.”

James Ziliak, Ph.D., is the Carol Martin Gatton Endowed chair in microeconomics, a university research professor in the Department of Economics in the Gatton College of Business and Economics and the founding director of the UK Center for Poverty Research .

Ziliak believes research equips students with an abundance of valuable skills, like creative thinking and writing, understanding the life of an academic and how to collaborate with others while working on projects.

“It’s an opportunity for students to learn and explore and discover about themselves and the things that motivate them, inspire them and opportunities going forward,” Ziliak said. “It’s equally important for students and faculty to have a good, collaborative working relationship. It is incredibly gratifying as a faculty member to watch a student grow and develop their research skills.”

Holla, a Gaines Fellow and Undergraduate Research Ambassador, credits her mentors’ accessibility and honesty to help her take advantage of opportunities.

“Their doors are literally and figuratively always open for students. I can just walk in and ask questions, and no matter how busy they are, they always answer,” Holla said. “They also warned me that analyzing data from the ground up can be overwhelming in the beginning. But it’s both scary and exhilarating to walk into this world of research where there are so many possibilities of what to research.”

Ziliak emphasized how research offers students an avenue to ask questions to figure out which paths they can take. He gave an important piece of advice:

“Don’t be afraid to ask about research opportunities. Go up and talk to your professor after class. Go see them during office hours to talk about the research they’re doing or what their lab may offer,” Ziliak said. “It does take some individual initiative on the part of the student to seek these opportunities out. It starts with being open to expressing interest in doing research.”

Holla encouraged students to stay connected with OUR and look at the resources available to students.

“They send out so much information about research, and they also have ambassadors like me who are in less represented areas within UK,” Holla said.

Holla also took advantage of resources from Student Success, like The Study to help complete her early mathematics curriculum. She also visited the LEAP Lab in Gatton College for tutoring for an upper-level economics course.

“Considering the pleasant experiences I had at both labs and my love for teaching, I soon joined the LEAP Lab and tutored for about three semesters,” Holla said.

After Holla graduates in May, she will return to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago for a full-time position as a research assistant. She hopes other students can capitalize on their journeys with undergraduate research.

“If you’re interested in research I would just say take the risk because there’s a whole world out there that we don’t know of. We take for granted what we learn in class, but there’s so much more past that.”

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.   

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Secret Life of Mom

20 Insightful Questions You Need To Ask Your Kids Or Grandkids Before They Grow Up

Posted: April 19, 2024 | Last updated: April 19, 2024

Asking the Right Questions

Most often, parents or grandparents ask questions to that may not necessarily get an elaborate answer. Questions like “Did you have a good day?” or “Do you like pizza?” simply get a yes or no, and a please or thank you, depending on the child. Unfortunately, these questions won’t open the path to a conversation. However, according to the New Horizon Academy , a nationally renowned preschool with a solid foundation in “high-quality” and “play-based” curriculum, the answer lies in how you ask the question. For example, instead, you might ask your grandkids what they like on their pizza, or what their favorite part of their day was.

Questions to Ask the Grandkids

While the main point to asking kids and grandkids the right questions is always to ask something that you would be able to elaborate on, however, the pressure and hope of connecting with kids can get in the way, preventing you from asking the right questions. Here are another 20 questions that are helpful in keeping you strongly connected to your kids and grandkids.

Read: "Granny Pods" Now Allow Your Aging Parents to Live in Your Backyard

What Makes You Happy?

The late great, Heath Ledger, made a handful of notable statements throughout his career, and one of his most profound related to the fact that no one ever asks you if you’re happy. However, when kids and grandkids are asked what makes them happy, a few really magical things happen. First, their faces will likely light up at the opportunity to share their happiness with the people they love most, bringing both grandparents and grandchildren a sense of joy. Next, they will happily talk about the things that bring them joy, sometimes giving you both a lot to discuss. Last, you can rest easy knowing there are moments and things in the world that make your favorite people, kids, and grandkids happy, even if you’re not always nearby.

What Makes You Laugh?

They say that laughter is the best medicine. It can certainly be helpful for uplifting a mood or creating a happy memory. Therefore, asking your kids or grandkids a question like this will most likely bring both of you some joy while discussing, if not even a few laughs. Read: The Benefits Of Kids Living Close To Their Grandparents

What Makes You Smile?

Not only does this question also allow the possibility of sharing a few laughs, but it also cultivates an environment of joy. Therefore, children and grandchildren will feel more comfortable talking to or confiding in you.

What Superpower Would You Have?

This is another fun question that will both give you insight into who your children and grandchildren are, as well as give you both something silly to laugh about together.

What is Your Favorite?

Incredibly, this is a versatile question that can be asked countless times. For example, you might ask your grandkids about their favorite foods, games, sports, colors, outdoor activities, books, movies, music , etc. This is also a great opportunity to hone in on what you and your children or grandchildren have in common, giving you even more to bond over.

Read: Grandmother Rants About Parents Who Treat Grandparents As Babysitters

If You Could Be Any Animal, Which Would You Be?

Questions like these allow for a creative approach to bonding with children and grandchildren because it allows them to play pretend, which isn’t just fun and exciting. It’s also an important part of healthy brain development and is essential for each child to engage in occasionally, if not often.

What is a Perfect Day?

Although the answer may change over the years, asking children this question not only helps you get to know the person they are, but it’ll also give you guidance for cheering them up after a tough day at school or throwing them a surprise party.

What Are Your Skills?

Asking kids and grandkids what they’re good at gives them an opportunity to build self-confidence . It allows them to look within to find opportunities to take pride in their creations, whether pottery, stories, furniture, or computers. Conversing about these skills will also help set children up for success by encouraging them to pursue their talents further. Read: Grandfather Pens Powerful Open Letter to His Grandkids About Childhood

What Do You Want to be When you Grow up?

Not only is this a great way to help you get to know your kids or grandkids better. It’s also another great way to encourage them to nurture their talents, practice their skills, and pursue their passions.

Who is Your Best Friend?

Asking questions about friends or school peers will help you feel connected and always know what’s going on with your children and grandchildren. To carry the conversation further, you could ask things like “What do you like to do together?” or “Did you meet playing on a (Insert activity) team?”.

What is the Best Dessert You’ve Had all Week?

Children are often food or sweet-motivated. They tend to really enjoy meals and after-meal treats, so much so that they’ll happily talk about those things. Giving grandparents a leg up when planning to surprise their grandkids with sweet treats.

Read: The Love of a Grandparent is One of the Greatest Blessings a Kid can Have

Grandkids’ Favorite Magical Creature?

This is another fun question that helps to encourage imagination and allows adventure to be had no matter where you and your grandkids are.

Ask About Silly Songs

Music is one of the most loved hobbies in the world, be it playing, singing, or just listening. Music is catchy and, in many cases, can be silly or funny. By asking your kids or grandkids about silly songs, you share a moment that may lead to joyous laughter. Additionally, asking children to remember something that happened to them can help them practice mindfulness, as it puts them in touch with a recent memory, locking in that experience. For a longer conversation, you might also try asking your grandkids if they would sing for you or teach you the song.

Favorite Places in the World?

This open-ended question is another great one to ask grandkids because it also does a couple of things. One, it allows them to explore other cultures, foods, and traditions. Second, it allows children to develop an understanding of just how vast and incredible the world is. As well as how different, yet similar, people are no matter their culture.

Favorite Memory?

Although this could’ve been included in the favorite category above, it seemed original enough that it may not immediately pop into your head as one of the questions to ask your children or grandchildren. When you’ve asked all the generic small talk questions, something thought-provoking like this may be just the ticket to bring you and your grandkids closer together.

Read: Family honors grandma's memory by displaying all of her quilts at her funeral

Change the Rules

Asking kids and grandkids about changing the rules is fun to both see what they prioritize as important and see what they secretly wish they could do differently in their everyday lives. It’s also a fun way to see what kind of leader they would be or will be (because who knows what the future holds).

Grandkids Least Favorites

In contrast to their favorite things, you can ask children and grandchildren their least favorite things as a good way to get to know them while gaining some guidance on what to steer clear of when buying gifts and treats.

How Would You Describe Your Family?

This is a fun way to see yourself and your children through the eyes of your grandchildren, as well as gain an understanding of the impression that you leave on your family.

Read: Study: Grandparents Who Babysit May Live Longer

What Do You Love Most About Being Part of the Family?

This question can have various answers, from fun weekend trips to the park to helping cook for family meals or holiday get-togethers, or simple things like family game night, reading stories before bed, or the way their siblings play with them and cheer them up when they’re sad. Either way, the answer to this question will undoubtedly warm your heart.

What Would You Do with $1,000?

This is simply a fun and clever way to understand the priorities of your children and grandchildren. After all, it’s very telling of someone’s character when they’re awarded any sum of money. Plus, it’s fun to imagine all the fun things to do with surprise earnings, even if it is pretend.

Although these questions are designed to offer some ideas of insightful questions to help you connect with your kids and grandkids, the best thing you can do is try. Ask these questions, but also take a supportive approach. Stay actively engaged, offer advice when asked for it, and above all else, be encouraging. Another option to take your bonding even further might be to do a fun activity together while having these conversations; this way, the joyous memories will be endless. Keep Reading: Your Mom May Feel Closer To Her Grandkids Than To You. Here's Why: Study

• “ 20 Questions to Ask Your Child to Get Them Talking .” New Horizon Academy .
• “ 27 Questions Your Kids and Their Grandparents Need to Ask Each Other. ” She Knows . Sabrina Rojas Weiss. September 27, 2023.

The post 20 Insightful Questions to Ask Your Grandkids Before They Grow Up appeared first on Secret Life Of Mom .

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Reporter Apologizes for 'Awkward' Exchange With Caitlin Clark at Fever Press Conference

• Author: Karl Rasmussen

Caitlin Clark had her introductory press conference with the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday, giving media members the first opportunity to talk with the new face of the franchise after she was selected with the No.1 pick on Monday evening.

Things took a rather unexpected and uncomfortable turn, however, when one reporter posed a bizarre question to Clark.

After receiving some criticism on social media after video of the exchange went viral, the reporter, Gregg Doyel of IndyStar, issued an apology for his actions.

"Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature. My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better," wrote Doyel on X .

Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature 🫶. My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologize. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better. — Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) April 17, 2024

During the initial exchange, Doyel asked Clark about the heart-shaped hand gesture she makes to her family after games.

When Clark asked if he liked the gesture, Doyel responded saying, "I like that you're here."

Clark then explained the significance of the hand gesture, to which Doyel said, "Start doing it to me and we'll get along just fine."

Reporter: 🫶 Caitlin Clark: "You like that?" Reporter: "I like that you're here." Caitlin: "Yeah, I do that at my family after every game.” Reporter: "Start doing it to me and we'll get along just fine." Caitlin: 😳 (via @IndianaFever / YT) pic.twitter.com/BBjU881K7a — ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 17, 2024

The 22-year-old awkwardly smiled after Doyel made his remarks, seemingly not quite sure how to react, while Doyel transitioned into asking another question.

The uncomfortable moment resulted in an apology from the reporter, and fortunately, the rest of the introductory presser went on without a hitch.

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